a4uexpo London recently spoke to Elizabeth D’Arcy-Potts, Business Development Manager for Performance Horizon Group regarding her first 6 months at PHG, her first a 4uexpo London and her top 3 tips for effective networking
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You have been part of the PHG team for approximately 6 months, what has been your highlight to date?
“I’ve really enjoyed discovering about the industry that we all operate in, which I find absolutely fascinating. I’ve worked in online advertising for a while and was vaguely aware of affiliate and performance, but I was still surprised by the breadth of activity covered within this space. From a more PHG specific perspective, as a salesperson I love the fact that I’m selling a product that I have absolute confidence in and that people I sell to seem to get genuinely excited by. Being part of a shift in this industry is a very exciting place for me to be”.
As a first timer at a4uexpo London, what are you most looking forward to?
“As mentioned above, this industry has really captivated me over the last 6 months, and I think a4uexpo London will be a great opportunity for me to drill down more into some of the emerging trends. The rest of the team at PHG have told me that everyone who’s anyone within the industry will be there over the two days and so I’m really looking to put some faces to names, increase my understanding and I’d get in trouble if I didn’t say that I want to have some good discussions about new business for PHG”!
Which conference sessions will you be front row at and why?
“The whole agenda is packed with fascinating content and so it’s difficult to pin this answer down to only a couple of talks. Having said that, the two sessions that really catch my eye are: ‘Performance Marketing – the value and perception debate’ day 2 (12:00 – 13:00), which has a strong line up and should highlight ways in which to increase the industry’s reputation, something I feel is key having come in from an external perspective; secondly the debate on ‘Are Performance KPI’s Causing an Industry Monopoly?’, day 1 (17:15 – 18:15) not only because Matt Bailey is making me go, but also because I’m keen to understand what it is that makes advertisers really tick”.
What treats can visitors of a4uexpo expect from PHG this year?
“Without giving too much away, I can say that this year PHG have an innovative way of showcasing our technology and demonstrating the absolute real-time capabilities of our tracking, reporting and partner management areas of our performance marketing dashboard. To tie in with our global performance marketing offering we will also be running a competition with some fantastic international prizes and handing out goodies with a global theme at our stand”.
As a Business Development Manager what are your top three tips for effective networking?
“Networking should be about forming genuine, long lasting relationships not just selling or simple self promotion. Approaching networking with the aim of getting to know new people and learn about their interests, rather than only thinking about what is in it for you, makes the whole experience more comfortable and valuable for both parties. With that in mind, my three tips for networking are”:
Be Prepared: focused networking increases your chances of meeting people with similar interests and beginning mutually beneficial conversations. Do some research into who is attending and focus on finding people that you are likely to have relevant discussions with. As an outcome of the event, it is better to have 5 long term business contacts than it is to have 500 who simply know your name.
Listen: this sounds straightforward but people often don’t listen to each other when having conversations and this is even more important during networking discussions, as you won’t get long to learn about the person you are talking to . Don’t assume you know what your conversational counterpart is going to say and don’t just anticipate your chance to talk, or you won’t actually have learnt anything new from your networking opportunities.
Follow up: contact people you’ve connected with after the event. Don’t just add them to your contacts list on LinkedIn , follow up with an email, send information that you think they will find useful based on your conversations, be interested in what they are doing and offer valuable suggestions where possible.
Performance Horizon Group are on stand 3 & 4 in the exhibition hall at a4uexpo London .
a4uexpo London 2012
Following an incredibly successful show last year attracting a record number of industry delegates, a4uexpo London returns to the Hilton London Metropole at the heart of the West-End over the 16th and 17th October 2012.